We met at Family Fun Magazine where Debra is an editor and I am a freelance crafter and stylist. We collaborated on many features and knew we worked well together. Our blog came about after we started writing Improv Sewing – an idea initiated by Debra who likes to tell how she would often see me coming in with boxes of crafts wearing something I had stitched. Debra thought she might not be the only one who would want to learn how to make clothes for themselves so asked if I would like to pitch a sewing book with her. Well, yes ma’am, I did. Improv Diary is our shared space for talking about creativity and making lovely things, as well as a few other random ideas.

With a background in creative publishing, it seems a natural fit that you would work together to write a book. How did you go about the process of pitching the book proposal to a publisher (or did it work the other way around)? Can you describe that process?

Yes, you are right, it was a natural fit. After we agreed that we wanted to pitch a sewing book, I stitched up a dozen or so things, Debra wrote a fantastic introduction and then laid out the photographed projects in such a nice way, it appeared we already had a book completed. After one false start with a publisher in New York we pitched the book to Storey Publishing. They are small but have had some great success in sewing books so we knew they would understand what we were trying to achieve. Furthermore, they are all about creative self-reliance and our concept fit right in with that. We were so fortunate to have a very quick response from them – waiting can be a killer – and they wanted it! They wanted it but wondered if we would be interested in increasing the size and breadth of the book from 30 clothing projects to 101 sewing projects that would span garment making to quick gifts. Despite that large number, we didn’t really hesitate – more projects definitely meant more work, but it also meant more fun.

Once the book deal was official, how did you divvy up the work of writing the book? With 101 projects, this surely took a great deal of time. What do you recall about those days of making the actual book projects?

Divvying up the work was a natural process – something that was obvious as we entered into the project’s first stages. We brainstormed a big list to get started with – obviously my clothing designs and other fun things I had designed over the years – and then we went to our respective corners for a while. I went to my studio where I designed, developed, stitched, and photographed and Debra started writing the core message of the book and introductions to the individual projects. As I finished developing things, I would send notes and images to Debra so she could write the instructions. In the early days, Debra was just learning to sew, which was perfect. I had to be thoughtful about the steps and process and if I was unclear or something didn’t make sense, she would catch it right away and ask all the right clarifying questions. Sometimes I had to re-develop something and sometimes I just need to explain the steps more clearly. As our deadline creeped closer, we began to meet more regularly to go over the directions, sew together, and draw up rough art to give to our illustrator. Those days feel like a while ago and I mostly remember sewing for very long stretches of time. I can safely say that Debra most likely remembers many late nights writing. Of course we wanted to projects to stand out and inspire people, but we also wanted the book to be a good read – I think we were successful.

Fast forward to the day you received a copy of the finished book in your hands. Can you describe your reaction, and any reflections on the process?

I will never forget the day that the guy delivered my ONE copy of the book (we’d have to wait a whole month before we’d see any more). It was wrapped in brown paper with a lovely piece of natural paper twine and a very kind note from our fantastic editor. My family gathered around and we looked at it and I had so many emotions and thoughts I couldn’t pin any one down. It had taken so much work and time to get to that place and then the book was in my hand – and it looked so beautiful to me!

What’s next for you both?

We have some ideas for another book that we have been tossing around, but for now, we have a lot of work to do to get the word out about this book and think we should dedicate our free time to doing just that.

Free Projects

Storey Publishing was gracious to share two free projects from the book, including the:

Giveaway!

Storey is giving away a copy of Improv Sewing to one lucky Craft Buds reader. To enter to win, just leave a comment on this post about something you’ve learned from this Q&A. Giveaway limited to North America. We’ll choose one random winner a week from today’s post!

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62 comments for “Author Talk: “Improv Sewing” + Giveaway!”

Marcia Kosturock

September 25, 2012 at 2:00 pm

It was good that they were able to divvy up the work to get things done. I’m really just thinking WOW 101 creative new ideas, that is simply amazing!! I can’t think of even one new creative idea so these people must be really awesome! I can’t wait to see what is inside this book!

I learned that this started at a book with only 30 projects in it — that your publisher convinced you to expand to 101 projects.
Sounds like a fun book to put together, and even more fun to explore for ideas.
rsgrandinetti@yahoo(DOT)com

I found it interesting how they each naturally chose what tasks suited them in the making of what looks to be an amazing book! They worked hard, enjoyed the process and realized a good team effort to produce a quality product! Bravo!

I really enjoyed hearing about the process of pitching a book, creating a book, and all the sewing/writing/photographing that go into it. What surprised me most, I think, is the fact that a single copy was delivered to begin with. What a treasure that must have been.

Thanks for the giveaway. I would love to tuck this away for my dear friend Shelly.

What I learned about this post is that these two creative ladies started with 30 projects from the book and rose to the challenge of producing 101! What a remarkable feat!! It looks wonderful!! Be especially blessed, Kathy

Wow, looks like a great book with some fun projects of ALL kinds! Thanks to craft buds for always bringing us these great interviews. I learned what this book and projects are about and a little more about the book writing process. :0)

I love this book! I have checked it out of the library so many times the librarian said that I was close to my limit of 10 times (that would be 10 times 3 weeks each)! But that is okay, my daughter has a library card, too!!!

I would so adore a copy of this book. It is such a refreshing reminder of what is possible when we turn on our creative minds!

Great article…so fun to “meet” the authors this way. I learned that they tried to not only inspire readers with the projects, but to make it a good read as well. Many crafting authors miss that and this looks like it will be an awesome book because of their dedication to making it a fun book to read!

It sounds like an amazing book. I am always impressed when you find two people who are so different but both add so much to the process. I find it interesting that Deb was a new sewer when they started the book. It would make you think more about how you wrote and presented each project.

This looks like a great book to have in my library. I enjoyed reading about the collaborative process, and how two different talents can combine to produce something truly wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing the free projects, too. I wish you every success.

I got goosebumps reading Nicole describe when she received her one copy!
I love how Debra was a beginner at sewing when they started the book and that helped Nicole in writing the instructions. Brilliant!

It seems like it would be hard to work with just anyone. You have to find that one person that you click with. (Hopefully there’s more than one!) I would love to win this book. Thx for the chance – as always, great giveaway!

I enjoyed reading this session if authir talk. It was interesting to learn how natural they both fell into the work, and how it was divided. 101 projects is a lot of work, thank you for sharing your ideas an experiences!

Hey all, if you didn’t win this book, it’s on Amazon for a little over ten bucks, which is a really good deal since it’s 101 projects. Seriously, this book has SO many ideas in it…it’s going to keep me going for a while! I really recommend it as a great value.